Fans are celebrating the 30-year anniversary of the original Legend of Zelda in all kinds of ways, but this recreation of the game using voxels is one of the most impressive tributes we've seen yet.
Voxels refer to the block shapes used to create game worlds like Minecraft. Using WebGL and voxels in conjunction, Zelda fans Scott and Mike have perfectly recreated the entire original Legend of Zelda, playable in your browser.
Because it's a recreation, everything is instantly familiar-looking. It plays just like you remember too. Upon spawning, step into the cave to receive your sword from the old man, then you're on your way to save Hyrule. You slash your way through enemies with the A button, use items with the B button and run around the overworld in search of dungeons and secrets just like you remember doing all those years ago.
Classic Zelda never goes out of style. What's different in this tribute is the game's visuals. Though it looks just like the NES classic you remember at first glance, take another look at you'll see that everything in the world has a 3D shape because of the game's use of voxels. It doesn't seem like that big of a difference, but it's a refreshing new look for the game. It's classic yet updated, and still every bit as fun to play as it was 30 years ago when it was first released.
Unfortunately, don't expect to be able to play this incredible recreation for long. Though the work of Scott and Mike is a not-for-profit fan tribute, the creators are still letting gamers play one of Nintendo's most cherished games for free on the Web, a game Nintendo still charges for on their eShop services. Given Nintendo's previous history with this sort of thing, it's not likely to let this project stay online.
In that case, you better enjoy it while you can. If you're looking for more ways to celebrate 30 years of Zelda, you can check out this 24-karat gold Nintendo Entertainment System and matching golden Legend of Zelda cartridge. It will only set you back $4,999.
